Seigel, 2011, states "intimate attunements permit a resonance of states of mind that are mutually regulating. Misattunements lead to dysregulation, which requires 'interactive repair' if the child is to regain equilibrium. Achieving emotional regulation is dependent on social interaction" (p. 268).
"Atttunement is the capacity of caregivers and children to accurately read each others cues and respond appropriately. The capacity requires that the caregiver and child be attuned on many levels: cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and physiological. Accurate attunement allows caregivers to respond to the emotion underlying children's behavior, rather than simply reacting to the most notable or distressing symptoms" (Blaustein & Kinniburgh, 2010, p. 65).
Students with neurobiological conditions will often be challenged by regulation and require co-regulation support for a longer period of time than typically developing children. Difficulties can be related to "neurophysiological factors, such as hyper-reactive and/or hyporeactive biases to sensory stimuli (Anzalone & Williamson, 2000; Dawson & Lewy, 1989; DeGangi, 2000; Kientz & Dunn, 1997), social-communicative difficulties and limitations in symbolic capacities (Prizant, et al., 1997), regulatory disturbances such as sleep disorders and feeding problems and delayed motor skills and motor planning difficulties (Anzalone & Williamson, 2000)" (Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin, Laurent & Rydell, 2006, p. 61). Challenges in the areas of communication and meta-cognitive skills can further hinder the development of self-regulatory skills. These combined challenges may result in high levels of anxiety and "behaviour problems". Responding to symptom-specific behaviours with traditional behavioural approaches can serve to further escalate anxiety.
Caregiver attunement for students with neurobiological conditions we must involve an understanding of neurophysiological, social, cognitive and communication factors that can play a role in a students state of regulation. It is important when working with a student with a neurobiological condition to take a strength-based approach. The pages in this section include a summary of the strengths that are often seen in a sampling of neurobiological conditions as well as specific strategies that can be used to facilitate regulation with these students.
Dysregulation in students with neurobiological conditions can potentially be misinterpreted as "behaviour" and the responses we employ could serve to only further dysregulate the student. It is important to be aware of a student's state of regulation and address this a the primary issue.
"The most important lesson to be learned from working with children who have special education needs may be that, as long as we get a child's learning curve to slope upward, however slowly, we need to assume that the upward trajectory will continue. This suggests that educators should always try to create opportunities for all children to develop core emotional, cognitive, social, and pro-social capacities, regardless of challenges with which they may be coping. To do so is to recognize every child's overall potential and its connection to the remarkable "plasticity" of the brain" (Shanker, 2012, p. 122).
The "Plasticity" of the Brain "Heightened brain plasticity" is a term generally used to refer to the following:
Three periods of intense growth and reorganization of the brain: one in the early years, another just before puberty, and one around the age of 18. During these periods of heightened "plasticity," many new neural connections are forged and pruned (Huttenlocher, 2002;Ramachandran, 2011).
Functional specializations: for example, violin players have an enlarged area in their motor cortex for the control of their fingers, blind people an enlarged one related to hearing, and experienced cab drivers an enlarged one involved in spatial processing (Doidge, 2007).
The brain's remarkable ability to draw on healthy areas to compensate for parts of the brain that might be injured or deficient in some ways. Research indicates, for example, that significant brain improvements can occur in young children with autism as a result of intervention (Stieben, Shanker, & Cassenhiser, 2012 in prep). This holds out the hope that similar results can be obtained in areas of learning disorders such as dyslexia that are also thought to be rooted in neural problems (Shanker, 2013, pp. 122-123).
"Atttunement is the capacity of caregivers and children to accurately read each others cues and respond appropriately. The capacity requires that the caregiver and child be attuned on many levels: cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and physiological. Accurate attunement allows caregivers to respond to the emotion underlying children's behavior, rather than simply reacting to the most notable or distressing symptoms" (Blaustein & Kinniburgh, 2010, p. 65).
Students with neurobiological conditions will often be challenged by regulation and require co-regulation support for a longer period of time than typically developing children. Difficulties can be related to "neurophysiological factors, such as hyper-reactive and/or hyporeactive biases to sensory stimuli (Anzalone & Williamson, 2000; Dawson & Lewy, 1989; DeGangi, 2000; Kientz & Dunn, 1997), social-communicative difficulties and limitations in symbolic capacities (Prizant, et al., 1997), regulatory disturbances such as sleep disorders and feeding problems and delayed motor skills and motor planning difficulties (Anzalone & Williamson, 2000)" (Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin, Laurent & Rydell, 2006, p. 61). Challenges in the areas of communication and meta-cognitive skills can further hinder the development of self-regulatory skills. These combined challenges may result in high levels of anxiety and "behaviour problems". Responding to symptom-specific behaviours with traditional behavioural approaches can serve to further escalate anxiety.
Caregiver attunement for students with neurobiological conditions we must involve an understanding of neurophysiological, social, cognitive and communication factors that can play a role in a students state of regulation. It is important when working with a student with a neurobiological condition to take a strength-based approach. The pages in this section include a summary of the strengths that are often seen in a sampling of neurobiological conditions as well as specific strategies that can be used to facilitate regulation with these students.
Dysregulation in students with neurobiological conditions can potentially be misinterpreted as "behaviour" and the responses we employ could serve to only further dysregulate the student. It is important to be aware of a student's state of regulation and address this a the primary issue.
"The most important lesson to be learned from working with children who have special education needs may be that, as long as we get a child's learning curve to slope upward, however slowly, we need to assume that the upward trajectory will continue. This suggests that educators should always try to create opportunities for all children to develop core emotional, cognitive, social, and pro-social capacities, regardless of challenges with which they may be coping. To do so is to recognize every child's overall potential and its connection to the remarkable "plasticity" of the brain" (Shanker, 2012, p. 122).
The "Plasticity" of the Brain "Heightened brain plasticity" is a term generally used to refer to the following: